PRIVATE TERMS WINS

By STEVEN CRIST

Published: April 24, 1988

Private Terms ran his record to 7 for 7 by scoring a 1 1/2-length victory over Seeking the Gold and Cherokee Colony in the $599,000 Wood Memorial Stakes at Aqueduct yesterday. The race considerably brightened the outlook for the Kentucky Derby May 7, because the first five Wood finishers finished just four lengths apart in a very quick race, and all ran well enough to earn a trip to Churchill Downs.

Private Terms, who will try to become the first undefeated Derby winner since Seattle Slew 11 years ago, paid $9.20 for $2 to win yesterday and ran the mile and an eighth under Chris Antley in an outstanding 1:47 1/5. That was one-fifth faster than Bold Forbes's 1976 stakes record and only one-fifth slower than Riva Ridge's 1973 track record. The Aqueduct track, dampened by light rain, was producing unusally fast times yesterday, but the race still comes up the best of the year for 3-year-olds.

Seeking the Gold, who finished second as the 2-to-1 favorite, held on well in his first race ever round two turns or beyond a mile. Cherokee Colony, who was just a nose back in third, was gaining quickly at the finish after traffic problems and could improve with the extra furlong of the Derby. Tejano, just half a length back in fourth, showed significant improvement over his recent California form and is back in the Derby.

Brian's Time, the 2-to-1 second choice yesterday, ran better than his fifth-place finish might suggest. He was 17 1/2 lengths back after a quarter of a mile and made up all but four lengths of it thereafter, so the mile-and-a-quarter Derby distance should only help him.

Private Terms, a Maryland-based son of Private Account and the Bold Ruler mare Laughter, races for the Locust Hill Farm of Stuart S. Janney and is trained by Charles Hadry. Janney, who is 83 years old, raced the great filly Ruffian in 1974 and 1975, and Private Terms is a descendant from the same immediate female family as Ruffian.

If he had to lose at all, Ogden Phipps, Seeking the Gold's owner, was glad to lose to Janney and Private Terms. Janney's wife, Barbara, who died earlier this year, was Phipps's sister. Also, Phipps raced both Private Account and Bold Ruler, the winner's sire and grandsire. Shades of the Gotham

The order of finish yesterday in the Wood was the same as in the Gotham Stakes two weeks earlier, where Private Terms held off Seeking the Gold by three-quarters of a length. Seeking the Gold had some traffic problems that day, but also carried 12 pounds fewer than the winner, whereas both carried the Derby weight of 126 yesterday.

Ballindaggin, the longest shot in the Wood at 90-to-1, was hustled to the lead yesterday by Ruben Hernandez and set fractions of 0:23 1/5, 0:46 4/5 and 1:10 2/5 under mild urging. Tejano was tracking him in second place and Seeking the Gold was boxed in at the rail in third. Private Terms was fifth at the rail after saving ground into the first turn.

As the field turned for home, Tejano moved up outside Ballindaggin to bid for the lead, and Seeking the Gold swung out wide to join the two leaders. The three of them went at it head and head as Private Terms again saved ground, slipping through at the rail.

Nearing the furlong pole, Private Terms had eased off the rail and had dead aim on the leaders. Seeking the Gold got a head in front after a mile in 1:34 4/5, but Private Terms caught him a few strides later and began to draw away.

Cherokee Colony, who had started just twice in the last five months, also got through on the inside turning for home, but then Jorge Velasquez saw four horses in front of him and altered course. He had to wait as Private Terms surged to the lead in front of him, then angled to the far outside and was gaining at the finish.

Private Terms may have finally earned some respect today. He came into the Gotham dismissed at 9-to-1 after winning his first five starts in Maryland, and even after he won it, most bettors thought it had been by default because Seeking the Gold had not fired his best shot.

''I don't know why people dismissed him, but they won't after today,'' said Hadry. ''I don't feel any different than I did three weeks ago about having a Derby contender. I am just happy to have a horse like this.''

The Wood was the biggest victory of Antley's career. The 22-year-old jockey had never won a Grade I race outside of New Jersey before and will ride in his first Derby 13 days hence.

The length of Seeking the Gold's nose earned him second-place money of $131,780 yesterday, and he probably needed that sum to win a berth in a Derby field that will be restricted to the 20 entrants with the highest earnings in graded stakes races.

Victory for Proper Reality HOT SPRINGS, Ark., April 23 (AP) - Proper Reality shot through along the rail in the middle of the stretch and pulled away to capture the $500,000 Arkansas Derby today at Oaklawn Park.

Proper Reality had to finish first or second today to earn enough money to qualify for the May 7 Kentucky Derby, if more than 20 horses are entered in that race. His victory was worth $300,000.

All Thee Power Breaks Down ALBANY, Calif., April 23 (AP) -All Thee Power raced to an eight-length victory today in the 74th running of the $250,000 California Derby at Golden Gate Fields and then broke down just past the finish line. The trainer, Jack Van Berg, confirmed that All Thee Power suffered a fractured right foreleg.